Shoo, Man, You CRAZY!

[blackeagle603]

Yeah, well all that's well and good but the hands down the 2nd most fun I ever had in a job was driving a wrecker on 2nd shift.

[evan price]

Yeah, well all that's well and good but the hands down the 2nd most fun I ever had in a job was driving a wrecker on 2nd shift.

Oh, yeah.

I worked (briefly) as a wrecker/recovery driver for a company that did repossessions for buy here-pay here car lots. The kind that is usually under investigation for predatory lending practices...

There was some really shady stuff going on, a lot of downright illegal stuff going on, and this was before legal CCW in Ohio by about ten years, but at least we had the 'prudent man' affirmative defense available.

There's nothing that gives you more of a joie de vivre than backing up behind a duplex garage at 3 AM, hooking your chains, and hearing the back door of the house open. Some guys would lay a nail-studded board on the stoop to discourage the debtor from pursuit before hooking up. Some guys lived for the confrontations.

Me, I hooked & booked like an angry rabbit and kept a sawed-off aluminum ball bat in the crash box.

[arctictom]

My personal motto is talk to some one a bit before you judge , you never know who is on the other end of a wrench . Here in Fairbanks its even worse displays of wealth are ignored , people with millions dress and act pretty much like every one else , so a really smart, wealthy small business guy , and a out of work seasonal laborer with a phd in physics, are oftenin my office bsing about ccw options , and unless they told you ,all it looks like is two old farts in jeans, dam I love that.

[Netpackrat]

Or as I personally witnessed, the "kid" dressed in a sweatshirt and old jeans, that was talked down to and blew off at the sales counter, was actually a successful aero engineer for a defense contractor (and formerly NASA) who had been ready to drop at least a couple of grand then and there, for having a custom rifle built. This was done despite his having been accompanied into the shop by a customer who had previously spent several hundred dollars there for custom work on his own rifle. I still can't believe somebody gave those pricks a tv show.

[arctictom]

Yup , although I do like some of their stuff even though they are tools.

[dfwmtx]

Agreed

I've tried to give people the benefit of the doubt. There's some subjects we're geniuses on, others we're blathering idiots. None of us would contest Einstein's contribution to science, but this entire board would dispute his political thoughts. But holy crap, when you've talked to someone and gotten to know them and confirmed they're an all around idiot......

[Denis]

It is hard for intelligent people to fathom just how dull really stupid people are - with some, it's a wonder they can even remember to breathe in and out.

It is demonstrably impossible for stupid people to fully comprehend just how stupid they are.

[Greg]

Or as I personally witnessed, the "kid" dressed in a sweatshirt and old jeans, that was talked down to and blew off at the sales counter, was actually a successful aero engineer for a defense contractor (and formerly NASA) who had been ready to drop at least a couple of grand then and there, for having a custom rifle built.

I have been that kid.

I like to do it to car salesmen too. If they're smart they'll see that I wear good shoes, and a nice but not flashy watch.

If they're really smart they'll know that the pistol I'm open carrying is worth as much as a used car, or a 10% down payment on a decent new one.

There are a surprising number of car salesmen who really do notice and understand these things.

Seeing how important it is for them, I'm not at all surprised that the good ones are, well, good at it.

[Denis]

Or as I personally witnessed, the "kid" dressed in a sweatshirt and old jeans...

I have been that kid.

...

There are a surprising number of car salesmen who really do notice and understand these things.

And there are surprisingly many who don't...

My dress style outside work is usually "eccentric millionaire", i.e. scruffy. I spend more than enough time in work wearing sober suits and expensive ties, so I like to dress casually otherwise.

I once went to a car dealership fully intending to buy two new vehicles, cash on the nail - I had picked out the exact specs I wanted to order, and only wanted to test-drive something similar, to be certain I liked the "feel" on the road. The salesman blew me off, probably because he wasn't impressed with how I was attired. He lost two instant cash sales, and probably never even noticed it.

[Erik]

I once went to a car dealership fully intending to buy two new vehicles, cash on the nail - I had picked out the exact specs I wanted to order, and only wanted to test-drive something similar, to be certain I liked the "feel" on the road. The salesman blew me off, probably because he wasn't impressed with how I was attired. He lost two instant cash sales, and probably never even noticed it.

I knew a car dealer of the other type. He told a story of a guy that came in looking like nothing special, and was obviously an immigrant from Iran, with an accent to match. Softspoken and unassuming. Not the type of person you expect to have a lot of money available, but he was looking at the most expensive SUV in the lot. The dealer thought there was no way he could afford it, but he never turned away an interested buyer, so he started talking with him. The customer went something like "yeah, this looks like a really nice car, but it must be really expensive", so the dealer agreed that yes, it was an expensive car, but it was also great quality. He had cheaper cars, but this was the best one. So the client goes "yeah... I think I need to talk to my wife first, we really need a car like this though. Do you think it would be possible to get a loan? I'm a doctor, but my wife's a surgeon and make more than me... Do you think our combined income is enough to get a loan for this car?"
The dealer said he was almost too stunned to answer him. The couple together could almost have paid for the car with cash. He told me he was glad that he never judged people on their looks.